News & Security Advice

South Australia

The South Australian Government has introduced digital passes and licences. This means that South Australians can carry selected government issued passes and licences on an Apple or Android smart phone or tablet device.

Builders, plumbers, gas fitters, electricians, and security and investigation agents can now choose to carry their licences/registrations digitally. (Note: crowd controllers who opt to carry a digital licence must still wear identification cards while working).

Hard copy licences will continue to be issued. While businesses and customers transition to validating digital licences it is recommended that hard copy licences still be carried.

Digital licences are provided through the mySA GOV account and mySA GOV app. Digital licences displayed in the mySA GOV app are an electronic form of the existing physical licence/registration and are valid credentials.

From 1 September 2018 any business that provides workers to another person/business and continues to pay the workers must hold a labour hire licence.

Licensed security and investigation agents are exempt from these requirements, unless they are subject to employee conditions. The exemption was granted on 14 March 2018, as recorded in the SA Government Gazette.

These occupations are already subject to rigorous testing to meet fit and proper and qualification requirements before they are granted a licence under the Security and Investigation Industry Act 1995.

An exemption has also been granted for licensed builders, plumbers, gas fitters and electrical contractors.

It is important to note that any employer must use a licensed labour hire provider when requesting workers for their own business (eg temporary admin staff), unless that provider is covered by an exemption. From 1 September 2018, the maximum penalty for engaging an unlicensed provider will be $400,000 for a company, or $140,000 or 3 years imprisonment for an individual.

For more information about when a labour hire licence is or isn’t required, please visit the labour hire licence webpage on sa.gov.au or contact Consumer and Business on 8204 8512.

The South Australian Government has begun introducing digital passes and licences. This means that South Australians can carry selected Government issued passes and licences on an Apple or Android smart phone or tablet device.

Digital passes and licences are provided through the mySA GOV account (an update of the EzyReg account) and mySA GOV app. Digital passes and licences displayed in the mySA GOV app are a valid form of identification.

Digital passes and licences are being introduced in stages with the first stage commencing on 29 May 2017. The first stage includes Proof of Age passes. While current plastic and paper passes and licences will continue to be issued, some people may choose to only carry their digital proof of age pass. Liquor licensees will need to be able to verify digital passes.

Accepting and validating digital passes and licences
There are two ways a digital pass or licence can be validated:

"Shake-to-animate"

If you do not have a smartphone or tablet, you can view the digital pass or licence in the app on the pass/licence holder’s smartphone or tablet. A “shake-to-animate” security feature has been added to the app. This feature animates the screen with a “tick”. It is recommended that you ask the digital pass or licence holder to ‘shake to animate’ the screen and see the tick to prove that the visual is not a photo or screenshot.

To validate digital passes and licences your organisation or business can create a mySA GOV account and install the mySA GOV app on a smartphone or tablet. You are not required to confirm your identity if you only want to use the account and app to verify digital passes or licences. To create a new mySA GOV account visit — sa.gov.au/mysagov. To download the mySA GOV app visit the App Store or Google Play.

Once a mySA GOV account has been created, log into the app, press the validate button and point your camera at the barcode on the pass you wish to verify. (For businesses with several staff, separate accounts will need to be created for each staff person as accounts cannot be shared across multiple devices simultaneously).

For more information about the mySA GOV app, setting up a mySA GOV account, and validating digital passes and licences visit — my.sa.gov.au

If you need help creating a mySA GOV account call Service SA on 1300 450 422 (Monday to Friday) during business hours or email — myaccountassistance@sa.gov.au.

Security and Investigation Industry (Classes of Offences) Variation Regulations 2017 was gazetted on 19 April 2017.

These regulations vary the Security and Investigation Industry Regulations 2011 to amend the offences that prohibit a person from being licensed as a security of investigation agent in South Australia.

SA Police (SAPOL) has awarded a $780,000 contract to NEC Australia for facial recognition software which will position South Australia’s police force as one of the most technologically advanced in the nation.

The technology will enable SAPOL to search, scan and monitor images and video of suspects against offender databases, leading to the faster and more accurate identification of persons of interest.

The facial recognition technology can also enhance South Australia’s existing CCTV network in the future by extracting faces in real time and instantaneously matching them against a watch list of individuals. The technology will also be used in missing person cases.

The facial recognition technology will be widely utilised by SAPOL in the fight against crime by late October 2016.

The South Australian State Government made an election commitment to further strengthen the South Australian police force through introducing the use of more high-tech policing equipment.

The Government is building a modern, 21st Century police force, and equipping front line officers with the tools they need to effectively protect our communities.

Investment in this state-of-the-art technology comes after the recent $16.1 million State Budget announcement that will deliver a record number of front line police for South Australia.

The Security and Investigation Agents (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2013 was passed by the South Australian Parliament in April 2013

The purpose of the amendments are to implement an agreement by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to adopt a nationally consistent approach to the regulation of the private security industry to improve the probity, competence and skills of security personnel and the mobility of security industry licensees across jurisdictions

In particular, the following new requirements will be introduced in SA:

provision for a consistent list of licensable activities for security agents, including:
- general guarding
- crowd or venue control
- guarding with a dog
- guarding with a firearm
- monitoring centre operations
- body guarding and
- training

a person must not carry on a business of providing security industry training unless the person has been approved by the Commissioner for Consumer Affairs

the security training sector must meet the same probity standards (fingerprinting and criminal history checks) as those imposed on security agents

The existing probity checks for security agents in South Australia will be maintained and strengthened. Additional nationally agreed disqualifying offences will be prescribed in the Regulations.

The opportunity has also been taken to restructure provisions of the Act to simplify its presentation. This includes creation of an expanded concept of fit and proper person to hold a licence or to be a director of a body corporate that holds a licence.

These new requirements take effect from 27 September 2013.

Current licensees will be transitioned to the equivalent nationally agreed licence categories. While the words used to describe the new licence types may differ, it is not intended that there be any change to the scope of work the licensee is authorised to perform.

While provision for provisional and temporary security agents’ licences were passed by the SA Parliament, it is not proposed to commence these provisions until additional consultation and further analysis of the impact of these licences has been undertaken.

The SA Security and Investigation Agents Regulations 2011 commenced on 1 September, 2011. The regulations includes the requirement for licensees to submit to mandatory drug and alcohol testing. South Australia is the first State to introduce alcohol and drug testing for security officers primarily operating in the crowd control sector Read more